Duterte trial: Prosecution withdraws 2 of 4 AFP witnesses on DepEd CF

MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial dispensed with two of its four witnesses from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday after a second AFP officer wrapped up his testimony on the same day.

AFP officers Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao and Lt. Col. Carlos Sangdaan Jr. were initially contemplated as witnesses but were dispensed with after two other members of the military had already testified that Department of Education (DepEd) personnel participated in the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) in 2023, when Duterte was the agency’s secretary.

“If we can say that they will only say one thing, so it’s just like we say, to shorten it… As long as we are satisfied that we have two witnesses who were presented based on the same point and that is what [Bajao and Sangdaan] will point out, so we will not present [Bajao and Sangdaan],” public prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua said in a press briefing.

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READ: Boransing insists: No Duterte offices’ funds in Army youth summits

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Earlier, the prosecution presented AFP Col. Manaros Boransing II and Col. Magtanggol Panopio, who testified to the YLS certifications.

Unbeknownst to them, the certifications were used by DepEd to claim that it used over P15 million in confidential funds for the summit when questioned by the Commission on Audit.

Both military officers contradicted this, saying the YLS was funded under the AFP and local government budgets.